The Pajalat were a Native American group who lived in the area just south of

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, prior to the arrival of the Spanish to the region in the 18th century.

Language

The Pajalat spoke a dialect of the

Coahuiltecan language Coahuiltecan was a proposed language family in John Wesley Powell's 1891 classification of Native American languages. Most linguists now reject the view that the Coahuiltecan peoples of southern Texas and adjacent Mexico spoke a single or related ...

. They spoke the same language as the Tiplacopal and Patumaco peoples.

Territory

At the time of European and African contact, the Pajalat lived between the

Frio River The Frio River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas. The word ''frío'' is Spanish for ''cold'', a clear reference to the spring-fed coolness of the river. Geography The Frio River has three primary tributaries; the East, West, and Dry Frio Ri ...

and the San Antonio River. The Tiplacopal people shared their territory. A 1727 Spanish map shows the Pajalat and Siquipil live in what is now Goliad County, Texas.

18th-century history

When Spaniards settled

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

, Pajalats moved there and to the

Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de Acuña Franciscan Friars established Mission Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de Acuña (also Mission Concepción) in 1711 as Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de los Hainais in East Texas. The mission was by the Domingo Ramón- S ...

and

San Francisco de la Espada Mission San Francisco de la Espada (also Mission Espada) is a Roman Rite Catholic mission established in 1690 by Spain and relocated in 1731 to present-day San Antonio, Texas, in what was then known as northern New Spain. The mission was built in ...

Missions when they were founded in 1731. At Mission Concepción members of the tribe alternated holding gobernador and alcalde offices with Tacame people. Historians have found records of 23 to 82 Pajalats living at Mission Concepción. By 1791, some Pajalat joined the

Nuestra Señora del Refugio Mission The Spanish Missions in Texas comprise a series of religious outposts established by Spanish Catholic Dominicans, Jesuits, and Franciscans to spread the Catholic doctrine among area Native Americans, but with the added benefit of giving Spain ...

in present-day

Refugio, Texas Refugio ( ) is a town in Refugio County, Texas, Refugio County, of which it is the county seat, in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 2,890 as of the 2010 United States census, 2010 Census. Refugio is the birthplace of National Baseball H ...

Name

The Pajalat were also called the Cajalate, Pajal, Pajalac, Pajalache, Pajalatam, Pallalat, Paxolot, and many other variations. They are not to be confused with the distinct Pachalaque people.

References

{{authority control Coahuiltecan Extinct Native American tribes Indigenous peoples in Mexico Native American tribes in Texas Pre-statehood history of Texas

Language

Territory

18th-century history

Name

Further reading

References